My Favorite Board Games From A–Z

The Brothers Murph are doing a series on BoardGameGeek's channel about their favorite games for each letter of the alphabet. I'm not interested in doing a full list for each letter, but here are my top favorites for each, some explanation, and a second-place entry.

• 51st State — I like this tableau-builder better than its sibling, Imperial Settlers, because the decks remain more manageable.
  Runner-up: 7 Wonders Duel
• Ark Nova — When I want a robust, beefy engine-builder, this is my current go-to. It's replaced Terraforming Mars for me, because it's more interesting as a whole.
  Runner-up: Abyss
• Bärenpark — Conversely, this little polyomino game is rules-light and great for introducing to new players.
  Runner-up: Bitoku
• Clank! — A deck-building dungeon crawl that manages to balance the board vs. the cards and inject some humor into the gameplay.
  Runner-up: Champions of Midgard
• Dune: Imperium — Another mechanism mix, this time worker-placement with deck-building. Add in some combat/area control elements, and this one just sings.
  Runner-up: Don't Turn Your Back
• Earth — Another game that just sings for me. I get the robust tableau/engine building feel in 60–90 minutes. This game has completely replaced Wingspan for me.
  Runner-up: Ethnos
• First Rat — This is a fairly straightforward resource-collection crossed with a racing game. I just love the look of it, and its rules-light nature makes it easy to play with just about anyone.
  Runner-up: Fields of Arle
• Gizmos — I like most of Phil Walker-Harding's games, and this is no exception. It might be one of his most complicated games, but it's still fairly straightforward. This game lets you build combo upon combo, which can be very satisfying.
  Runner-up: Grifters
• Heart of Crown — This is an anime-themed deck-builder that has some unique elements, both in how the market works and the end-game conditions. It shows its age some, but I still really enjoy it.
  Runner-up: Hadara
• It's a Wonderful World — This just narrowly beat out Istanbul, which is also great. IAWW is a short, snappy drafting game that really makes you think during its relatively short duration. It's sequel, on the other hand, is a pile of garbage.
  Runner-up: Istanbul
• Jamaica — This game is practically a classic at this point. It's a racing game that has some strong interactivity and potentially tight resources.
  Runner-up: Joking Hazard
• Kingdomino — This is another one of those rules-light games that goes over well with most people. I'm not specifying a particular version of this, since you can play the very basic first version or the more involved versions like Queendomino or Kingdomino: Origins.
  Runner-up: King of Tokyo/New York
• Legendary — Again, I'm putting the entire family in here. We've got a ton of Legendary, from the Marvel sets, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, and James Bond. Additionally, the Encounters system adds some story/horror elements to it with the Aliens and Predator franchises. It can be a pain to set up, but the variability is unmatched by almost any other game.
  Runner-up: Lost Ruins of Arnak
• Marvel United — We've gone all-in on the Kickstarters for this, so we have a ton of variability with it. Additionally, it's a rules-light cooperative game, which despite its simple system, offers a lot of differences in games depending on the villains and heroes selected.
  Runner-up: Mille Fiori
• The Networks — This is a game that combines humor with strong theme. Running your station involves some careful planning as well as the right timing for when you cycle programs. I'm not sure how available it is right now, but hopefully another publisher picks it up.
  Runner-up: Nidavellir
• Origins: First Builders — This is one of those games that I shouldn't even like, but am somehow astonishingly good at. Basically, it's a bunch of tactical dice usage and manipulation for points, but it speaks to me for some reason.
  Runner-up: Onitama
• The Pursuit of Happiness — I love this game. It's The Game of Life but as a euro game. Sometimes, it's not even about the points, but how much fun you get to have with your imaginary life.
  Runner-up: Paperback
• The Quacks of Quedlinburg — Admittedly, I wasn't in love with this game when I first played it. However, it's grown on me considerably, and its push-your-luck element is a lot less punishing than other games of its ilk.
  Runner-up: Quiddler
• Rajas of the Ganges — Although this game has a lot going on (worker placement, dice manipulation, tableau building, tracks), everything seems to run smoothly and feel integrated with the other elements. I can't say enough good things about it.
  Runner-up: Raiders of the North Sea
• Splendor — Whenever a light engine-builder comes out, they always call it a "Splendor Killer". However, which game is still around and selling strong? Heck, the only game that might qualify would be it's new version, Splendor Duel.
  Runner-up: Shadow Kingdoms of Valeria
• Teotihuacan: City of Gods — I still think Board & Dice nailed it with this one and haven't surpassed it yet (although my wife likes both Tawantinsuyu and Tiletum better). So much to do in this game, and the modular expansions give you even more variety and scoring opportunities.
  Runner-up: Trains
• Unmatched — This was another close one, but I just love the variety built into the Unmatched system as well as its quick play time. Wonder who would win a fight between Spider-Man and King Arthur? Now you can find out!
  Runner-up: Underwater Cities
• Viticulture — What can I say about Viticulture that hasn't already been proclaimed by others? So much to do, and the Tuscany expansion makes it even better.
  Runner-up: Valeria: Card Kingdoms
• Wayfarers of the South Tigris — The only Garphill game to make this list (at least in the top spot), Wayfarers is a unique tableau-builder that is currently singing for me. It's unique worker-placement mechanism also feels like a breath of fresh air.
  Runner-up: Wasteland Express Delivery Service
• The X-Files — I've only played two games that start with "X" and they are both X-Files themed. This one is a one-versus-many game while the other is a rethemed version of Circle the Wagons.
  Runner-up: The X-Files: Circle of Truth
• Yokohama — This is kind of a more complicated version of Istanbul, where you have to plan your movement out and double back in order to do well. Since TMG folded, I'm glad this got picked up by another publisher.
  Runner-up: YINSH
• Zapotec — This is a game from Board & Dice that feels like a streamlined version of their T-games (Teotihuacan, Tawantinsuyu, etc.). I'm going to add a disclaimer that this wouldn't be here without the Quick Start cards which make this super-quick game more satisfying by jump-starting your production.
  Runner-up: Zooloretto

If you have any comments or want to add your favorites by letter, feel free to do so in the comments below. Thank you for reading!